Vile
by Kelaiah
Summary: A musical version of "Outcast of Redwall."


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Redwall, Mossflower, or anything like that: all of that belongs to Brian Jacques. And I do not own any of the songs in here, as they are all from _Wicked_, the greatest Broadway play ever.

**A/N:** I've been meaning to do this for quite awhile now, create a _Wicked_-based songfic of Veil and some of the cast of "Outcast of Redwall", and finally, here it is! I hope you all enjoy! :D

* * *

Sharp, dramatic music began to play. The curtains still did not part, but a series of loud, ringing voices erupted all over the audience.

"Guards! _Guards!_ GUARDS!"

"There is a fugitive at large in the abbey!"

"Find him!"

"Capture him!"

"And bring him before the council!"

Finally the curtains parted, revealing the stage: upstage was completely shrouded in black, wooden posts appeared here and there, and a trapdoor took its place on the right side of the stage.

From out of said trapdoor hurtled a young red-clad ferret, who was breathing heavily as though he had been running. Following him was a blue-clad mousemaid with a crooked mobcap.

"Veily, wait! Where are you going – _Veily!"_

Veil looked around the stage, his eyes darting this way and that. "Oh no, there are no more stairs! This must be the attic." He turned to Bryony, who looked like she was trying to catch her breath.

"Veily, listen to me," the disheveled mousemaid began, but the ferret interrupted her, not even listening.

"We have to barricade the door! Aha! I'll use this." He seized what looked like a rod or a pole of some sort and began fastening it over the trapdoor.

Bryony finally caught her breath, adjusting her cap. "Wha . . . but . . . Veil – why couldn't you have just stayed calm for _once?_ Instead of _flying off the handle?!"_

Veil didn't answer, securing the pole between the door handles.

Bryony, narrowing her eyes, began the song, waving her paws about in agitated anger.

_I hope you're happy.  
I hope you're happy now!  
I hope you're happy how you've  
Hurt your cause forever!  
I hope you think you're clever!_

Veil whirled on Bryony, snapping back:

_I hope _you're_ happy!  
I hope you're happy, too!  
I hope you're proud how you  
Would grovel in submission  
To feed your own ambition!_

And so both creatures began to sing in unison.

_So though I can't imagine  
Hooooooooooow  
__I hope you're happy  
__Right noooooooooow!_

And with that, both mouse and ferret turned away from each other in disgust, wanting nothing to do with the other.

As they did, however, just above them, a balcony appeared in the spotlight. At the same time, the light on Veil and Bryony faded away, and Abbess Meriam came out onto the balcony, a tousled look about her normally serene self.

"Good creatures of Redwall," the abbess began, clutching the railing. Her voice rang mightily out over the audience. "There is an enemy among us who must be found, and captured! Believe nothing he says!

"He's _evil! _Responsible for the unfortunate mishap that has befallen two of our beloved abbeydwellers! The six claws on his left paw are an outward manifestation of his violent, twisted nature, this. . . ."

The abbess trailed off, as though trying to think of the right word.

"This – distortion . . . this . . . _repulsion_ . . . this . . .

**"VILE VERMIN!"**

As Meriam's final two words boomed, the stage below her erupted into a frenzied crowd of Redwallers surrounded by a thick fog, darkness, and red light.

"Go! And hunt him!" they chanted loudly, holding up several weapons of torture and execution: ropes for hanging, pitchforks, axes, wooden boards, hoes, and other various gardening tools.

_And find him!  
And kill him!_

"Good fortune, Vermin Hunters!" Meriam called down to them.

_Go! And hunt him!  
And find him!  
And kill him!_

"Kill the vermin!" shrieked Barlom, who stood amongst the murderous crowd.

_Vileness must be punished!  
Evil effectively eliminated!  
Vileness must be punished!_

The Redwallers began to make their exit off the stage, still waving their weapons about.

_Punnniiished!  
Punnnniiiiished!  
But gooooooooooooood!_

As the last bloodthirsty words echoed throughout the hall, the spotlights both on Meriam's furious face and the stage itself went out, leaving the audience looking up at a large space of darkness.

Then, from out of the black, came the soothing, yet trembling voice of Bryony.

"Don't be afraid."

The lights came back on, revealing that Veil and Bryony were back on stage, and no longer standing at opposite ends with their backs to each other. They were standing side-by-side center stage, clutching at each other's paw, staring wide-eyed out at the audience.

Veil answered, an old gleam in his eyes. "I'm not. . . . It's the abbey who should be afraid. . . . of me."

And eery sort of music began to play, becoming more and more powerful as Veil snarled out his song:

_No good deed goes unpunished  
No act of charity goes unresented  
No good deed goes unpunished  
That's my new creeeeeeeeeeeeeed!_

Veil stepped away from Bryony, holding up his crimson-stained claws.

_My road of good intentions  
Led where such roads always lead  
No good deed  
Goes unpunished!_

The music stopped, and Veil sank to his knees, paws clutching his head. Bryony hurried to his side, crouching next to him and raised his chin so that his eyes were looking into her pleading brown ones.

"Veily, listen to me. Just . . . say you're sorry. Before it's too late." She then smiled at the ferret she had raised since infancy and began to sing again, trying to appeal to his better judgment.

_You can still be with the abbey  
What you've worked  
And waited for  
You can have all  
You ever wanted. . . ._

Veil nodded solemnly. "I know. . . . But I don't want it. . . . _No_," he said suddenly, jerking away from her.

_I can't want it  
Anymore. . . ._

Bryony watched as Veil stood forward, looking down at his red-dyed paws – the very paws that had been dyed by the Redwallers themselves.

_Something has changed within me  
Something is not the same_

The ferret suddenly curled his paws into fists.

_One question haunts and hurts  
Too much - too much to mention  
Was I really seeking good  
Or just seeking attention?_

Veil spread his arms imploringly to the audience, and as he did, the music became faster and wilder.

_Is that all good deeds are  
When looked at with an ice-cold eye?  
If that's all good deeds are  
Maybe that's the reason whyyyyyyyyy_

Veil spread his arms, and the same eery red light and shadowy fog from earlier encircled the young ferret.

_No good deed goes unpunished!  
All helpful urges should be circumvented!  
No good deed goes unpunished!  
Sure, I meant well -  
Well, look at what well-meant diiiiiiiid!_

Veil gave a scream of frustration, flailing his claws about, as though trying to attack the fog that engulfed him, when suddenly he turned back to the audience in a resigning way.

_All right, enough - so be it!  
So be it, then!_

The sound of the abbey bells tolled, and a strange white light flitted across Veil's face, making him look like some sort of demon.

_Let all of Moss be agreed  
I'm VILE through and through!_

"I'm through!" the ferret yelled suddenly, stepping forth from the fog, looking normal again. The music became softer and more melodic.

_Through with playing by the rules  
Of someone else's game_

A strange light and sense of purpose filled Veil's eyes.

_Too late for second-guessing  
Too late to go back to sleep  
It's time to trust my instincts  
Close my eyes_

The ferret did just that, shutting his eyes for a moment, before opening them again and spread his arms forward and sideways.

_And leeeeap!  
It's time to try  
Defying gravity_

The ferret's eyes began to glaze over a bit, seeing something that only he could see, a strange smile spreading across his lips.

_I think I'll try  
Defying gravity  
And you can't pull me down!_

"Unlimited!" Veil cried out, his eyes widening.

_My future is unlimited  
And I've just had a vision  
Almost like a prophecyyyy  
I knoooooooooow  
It sounds truly crazy  
And true, the vision's hazy  
But I swear, someday I'll be  
Up in the sky  
Defying gravity-!_

Bryony, who had been heretofore watching in horrified fascination Veil's performance, suddenly hurried forward, desperately grabbing the ferret's shoulders and shaking him.

_Can't I make you understand?  
You're having delusions of grandeur!_

Veil threw her paws off him, stepping past her, a reckless gleam in his eye; the music itself also was beginning to sound reckless.

_I'm through accepting limits  
'cause someone says they're so  
Some things I cannot change_

He turned to Bryony, grinning and shrugging.

_But till I try, I'll never know!  
Too long I've been afraid of  
Losing love I guess I've lost_

"Well, if _that's_ love," the ferret yelled, pointing at the place where Meriam had been minutes before.

_It comes at  
Much too high  
A cooooooooooooost!_

The ferret turned back to the audience, his face dreamy and smiling again.

_I'd sooner buy  
Defying gravity_

Bryony tried to get Veil's attention, tapping him on the shoulder, but the ferret seemed to have entered a world of his own.

_Kiss me goodbye  
I'm defying gravity  
And you can't pull me down!_

Even before Veil finished his note, a solid pounding noise came from the barred door.

_Boom! Boom!_

"Open this door!" shouted an otter's voice. "In the name of Martin, open up!"

Bryony stood nervously by the trapdoor, checking to see if it was really holding. Veil, in the meantime, had pulled out a sheet of parchment from inside his tunic, and, spreading it on the ground, hurriedly began reading.

"I–am that is  
"Stand true for all  
"I–am that is  
"A warrior of Redwall!"

Bryony turned and saw what the ferret was doing. "No, wait! What are you doing? Stop! That's what started all this in the first place, you and your wretched dreams of Martin talking to you! Veil, that's why we're up here in the first place!"

_Boom! Boom!_

"Open the door!"

"Veil, stop."

"I–am that is. . . ."

_Boom! Boom!_

"Stop, stop!"

"Warrior of Redwall!"

"Open the door!"

_Boom! Boom!_

"Veil, stop! Stoppit!"

"Stand true for all!"

_Boom! Boom!_

"I–am that is. . . ."

_Boom! Boom!_

"Warrior of Red–!"

**_"STOP!"_** shrieked Bryony.

All fell silent.

Veil looked up from the parchment, but not at Bryony. He stared blankly out at the audience. Bryony stood behind him, her paw over her mouth, her eyes watering.

". . . Veil," the mousemaid breathed. "There's no sword up here . . . maybe you're not the next Abbey Champion after all."

Veil continued to stare out at the audience. His eyes turned watery red. But then something – a certain gleam – caught them, and the ferret turned his head and looked at the barred door. And gasped.

Bryony turned as well and saw what he was looking at. "Sweet Martin."

A beam of 'moonlight' was shining down on the trapdoor. There, what Veil had recently mistaken to be a pole, was just what the ferret had been searching for.

"I told you, Bryony!" the ferret cackled, dashing forward and seizing Martin's long-lost sword. "Ooh woo, did I tell you! Heeheehee!"

Bryony stared in awe and wonder at the marvelous weapon. The blade was still enclosed in its sheath, but the hilt itself was exposed. It was so magnificent that it didn't seem necessary to reveal the blade just yet.

_Boom! Boom!_

"You there! Fetch the battering ram and break it in!" the otter's voice from behind the door called, but his shout was ignored by Veil and Bryony, who simply stood and gazed upon the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior.

After a moment, however, Veil lifted his eyes from the sword to the mousemaid's face.

"Bryony," he said, his voice soft but firm. "Come with me."

The mousemaid gave a start, backing away. "What?"

"Come with me!" he repeated urgently. "Think of what we could do, together!"

_Unlimited  
Together we're  
Unlimited_

Bryony slowly walked forward and began to run her paws up and down the sheathed blade.

_Together we'll be the greatest team  
There's ever been  
Bryony  
Dreams, the way we planned 'em_

The mousemaid finally took her gaze off Martin's sword and into Veil's eyes.

_If we work in tandem. . . ._

Grinning, both creatures began singing in unison again, only this time as a team.

_There's no fight  
We cannot wiiiiiinnn  
Just you and I  
Defying gravity_

Veil placed his right paw over Bryony's left, and she placed her own right paw over his.

_With you and I  
Defying gravity_

Bryony suddenly stopped singing, her face crumbling with doubt, and backed away again.

_They'll never bring us down!_

Veil noticed what the mousemaid had done. The ferret swallowed, and began buckling the sword to his belt. "Well? Are you coming?"

Bryony leaned against a post, looking breathless. "Oh Veily . . . Veily, I . . ." she swallowed, and finished with: "Veily, you're trembling."

Veil shrugged, managing a grin.

The mousemaid then cast about for something, and came up with a black cloak with a red lining. "Here, put this around you," she said. One last maternal act before parting. . . .

As Bryony stepped back, she took a full view of Veil: swathed in black and red, his paws looking like they had been drenched in blood, the ferret really did look the picture of an evil, vile warlord, but he held Martin's noble sword at his side, and a weary but reckless smile spread across his lips as his dark eyes stared back down at the mousemaid who, at this moment, was his only friend.

The mousemaid began to sing in a soft, small voice.

_I hope you're happy  
Now that you're choosing this_

"You too," Veil whispered in reply before singing in response.

_I hope it brings you bliss_

The two then started to sing their farewell to each other.

_I really hope you get it  
And you don't live to regret it  
I hope you're happy in the ennnnd_

Veil took Bryony's paw, and the mousemaid's other paw placed itself on the ferret's cheek.

_I hope you're happy . . . my frieeeend_

The music became soft and soothing, like a lullaby.

"You're the only friend I've ever had," Veil said softly.

Bryony's eyes watered. "And I've had so many friends."

The ferret gave a snorting laugh.

The mousemaid shook her head. "But you're the only one . . . that mattered."

And with that, Bryony turned away, singing sadly.

_I've heard it said  
That people come into our lives for a reason  
Bringing something we must learn  
And we are led  
To those who help us most to grow  
If we let them  
And we help them in return_

She turned back to Veil, shaking her head.

_Well, I don't know if I believe that's true  
But I know I'm who I am today  
Because I knew you..._

The mousemaid looked out towards the audience, her face becoming dreamy as Veil's once had.

_Like a comet pulled from orbit  
As it passes a sun  
Like a stream that meets a boulder  
Halfway through the wooooood  
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?  
But – because I knew you_

Bryony gave a shuddering stop, as though struggling to keep herself from crying. She just barely managed to choke out,

_I have been changed . . . for good_

Veil looked touched. He came forward, smiling warmly, and wiped away the tears from the mousemaid's eyes, singing in response.

_It well may be  
That we will never meet again  
In this lifetime  
So let me say before we part  
So much of me  
Is made of what I learned from you  
You'll be with me  
Like a handprint on my heart  
And now whatever way our stories end  
I know you have re-written mine  
By being my frieeeeend..._

He put his arm around her, spreading his free arm out towards the audience.

_Like a ship blown from its mooring  
By a wind off the sea  
Like a seed dropped by a skybird  
In a distant wood  
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?  
But because I knew you_

_Because I knew you_, sang Bryony.

Veil smiled, and they sang in unison:

_I have been changed for good_

The ferret suddenly stepped away, a half-shamed look on his face.

_And just to clear the air  
I ask forgiveness  
For the things I've done  
You blame me for_

Bryony shook her head and turned him back towards her.

_But then, I guess we know  
There's blame to share_

Veil then gripped the mousemaid's paw, and they continued their song together.

_And none of it  
Seems to matter  
Anymoooooooooooore_

_Like a comet pulled from orbit_

_Like a ship blown from its mooring_

_As it passes a sun_

_By a wind off the sea_

_Like a stream that meets a boulder_

_Like a seed dropped by a_

_Halfway through_

_Bird in_

_The woooooooooooood. . . ._

_Who can say if I've been  
Changed for the better?_

They looked into each other's eyes, and nodded firmly.

_I do believe I have been  
Changed for the better_

Bryony swallowed. "And . . . because I knew you. . . ."

Veil smiled. "Because I knew you. . . ."

_Because I knew you. . . ._

As they sang, the mousemaid ran her finger's through the ferret's headfur, tousling it; Veil gave an affectionate roll of the eyes.

_I have been chaaaaaaaanged. . . ._

They held another smile.

_For good. . . ._

As the music came to a close, both mouse and ferret embraced each other . . . but then–

_CRASH!_

The door burst open, and a mob of squirrels and otters came thundering out on stage, shouting, "It's open! Skipper, Redfarl, up here! Don't let 'em get away!"

As the warriors made their entrance, Veil sprinted into the darkness of upstage, Bryony calling after him.

"Go, go, Veily! Go! Wha-? What are you doing?!" she cried, struggling to escape the two squirrels who grabbed hold of her. "Let go of me, do you hear?!"

"Leave her alone! It's not her!"

All turned their attention to Veil, who reappeared with a spotlight shining down on him.

"She has nothing to do with it, you fools! I'm the one you want! It's me!"

_"Veily!" _screeched Bryony as she watched, horrified, as the squirrel- and otter-warriors hurtled themselves at the ferret, slings and spears raised—

"It's _meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"_ Veil cried, drawing Martin's sword – and the light caught the blade so bright that the squirrels and otters fell back in shock.

Landing on their backs, the warriors could only stare stupidly as the ferret was suddenly lifted above them in the air by Martin's Spirit, bathed in the eerie red light while smoke billowed about them.

A triumphant spout of music spread through the air as Veil grinned down at them, waving Martin's sword aloft.

_So if you care to find me  
Look to the western sky!  
As someone told me lately:  
'Everyone deserves a chance to fly!'_

Here Veil lifted Martin's sword, making the light glint off the blade.

_And if I'm flying solo  
At least I'm flying free_

He pointed his six-clawed paw down at the fallen soldiers.

_To those who ground me  
Take a message back from meeeeeeee  
Tell them how I am  
Defying gravity_

Down below, the only creature left standing was Bryony, and she gazed up at Veil with tear-stained eyes and a proud smile.

_I'm flying hiiiiiiiiiigh  
Defying gravity!  
And soon I'll match them  
In renoooooooown!_

The ferret suddenly took the blade itself in his left paw as he pointed the weapon down at the fallen warriors. He squeezed the blade so hard it made blood run down the white metal.

_And nobody  
In all of Moss  
No abbey that there is  
Or was  
Is ever gonna bring  
Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee dooooooooooooooooooooooooown!_

Bryony called up to Veil, "I hope you're happy!" just before the weapon-toting abbeydwellers came hurrying out onto stage. They stared up at the ferret: cloaked in red and black, holding a blood-stained sword in his right paw, while the six claws of his bleeding left paw twisted sinisterly.

_Look at him!  
He's vile!_

Just then Skipperjo, Redfarl, Sumin, and Jodd, followed by even more squirrel- and otter-warriors jumped out onto stage, all with spears and slings aimed at Veil.

_Get 'im!_

But the ferret continued to sing, resistant to all.

_Bring meeeeeeee dooooooooooooooooooooooooown!_

The Redwallers sang in response, staring hatefully up at the one they deemed 'vermin'.

_No one mourns the vile!  
So we've  
Got  
Tooooooo  
Brinnnnnnnnnng  
Hiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmmmmm_

Veil gave one final note, grinning insanely.

_Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh! _

_Dooooooooooooooooooooooooown! _

The act ended with Veil giving one last final stab into the air with Martin's sword, the music coming to a grand stop, red smoke billowing about the blood-tinted stage before all went black.

* * *

**A/N:** All of the songs used in this were _Defying Gravity, No Good Deed, No One Mourns the Wicked, The Wizard and I, For Good, _and_ March of the Witch Hunters_. I used all the songs that I thought suited Veil. At first I considered doing them all one at a time, but then I thought it'd be better just to do a one-shot, as some of the lyrics in the songs wouldn't exactly fit Veil. And thanks to some vids I saw off of YouTube, I was able to figure out how to combine the songs (I saw a vid that had _Defying Gravity, March of the Witch Hunters, _and _The Wizard and I_, and another vid with _Defying Gravity_ and _For Good.)_ I had some slight trouble getting _No Good Deed_ in there, but I think it came out alright. Somewhat. Meh.

Also, the descriptions of Veil and Bryony were taken from cybercatmia's pic on her deviantart account, so give the credit to her. :)


End file.
